LEN WELLS: My home is resort for unwanted critters

I have no idea how or when it happened, but my place has turned into a winter resort for unwanted animals. Efforts to get these critters to move along have been met with mixed results.

It actually started last winter when someone dropped off a multicolored cat down by the mailbox at the end of the lane. Within a couple of days, it became clear that the new cat was a "she" and was just days away from going into labor.

What's amazing is that our two yellow Labs gave up their bed of straw in the middle of winter last year for the cat to have her babies. The birth produced a black cat with a huge bushy tail and two "who-done-it" looking kitties. All grown up now, I decided it was time to move them along.

With permission from a farmer friend down in White County, the family of cats has been relocated to a nice warm hay barn where they are gainfully employed as country mousers.

Then along came a reddish dog of unknown breed that showed up in the barn a few weeks ago. Our yellow Labs don't mind the company, and seem to be happy to share their food. However, I wasn't in the mood to feed a third large-breed dog. What's that saying? Two's company — three's a crowd?

Feeling pretty confident about where this dog came from, I decided one night it was time to return him to his "home place". After a bit of a struggle, I managed to get the reluctant unnamed dog in the back seat of my car and off we went. Pulling up to the farm where two of his brothers ran out to greet him, I felt pretty good about reuniting this canine family.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I was piled up on the couch and about halfway through an episode of Law and Order when low and behold — the red dog was back at the front door. "Big Red" — as I now call him — is still hanging around the barn where he has developed quite an appetite for Purina Dog Chow. As you might guess, "Big Red" doesn't appear to have any interest in "going for a ride" anytime soon.

We're not even a month into winter, and I have to wonder what's going to show up next. Not too long ago, a horse showed up in the front yard. Fortunately, that was a simple case of a neighbor's horse escaping his pasture. He was safely returned to his home without incident.

I just wish that if someone is going to drop off an animal at my place, that they would have the decency to leave a few bags of food. Perhaps it's my fault for having two dogs that are so welcoming to strangers — both dogs and cats.